Chapter 374: Systemic Slavery
"Who else?" Bai Mo looked at the people present.
"What exactly do you want to do?" No one had expected that a high and mighty five-tier spirit cultivator would be instantly killed by a sudden interloper.
"I want a more interesting new era. Does anyone object?" Bai Mo casually sat in the air, gazing playfully at the people around him, their expressions varied.
"Interesting. How do you want to play?" The first to step forward was Edward Teach. Ever one to stir up chaos, he watched the constantly shifting countenance of Bai Mo with keen interest, not a hint of panic in his eyes.
"Wait, let's give the players of this game some time to react. I don't want to say the same thing twice." Bai Mo had just used a mental wave to simultaneously gather the attention of the entire world; many were still waking from their slumber, not yet fully aware, their minds adrift.
"What's going on? Who's speaking?" This was the first reaction of those unaware of the truth.
"Who's leaving the stage?"
"You heard that voice just now too?!"
"What? That wasn't just my imagination?"
"Honey, what's wrong?"
"I think I heard someone speaking in my dream just now."
Everyone exchanged glances. At first, they had thought it was just auditory hallucinations, but they soon realized the matter was far from simple.
Without exception, everyone—whether working, studying, eating, or even sleeping—received this mental wave.
Then, involuntarily, those working stopped what they were doing, students put down their books, diners paused with their spoons, and even those who had been sleeping opened their eyes after waking, silently waiting.
A profound and inexplicable feeling told everyone that the events about to unfold would profoundly alter the destiny of every individual in this world.
"For thousands of years, the human species has been enslaved by the two concepts it created: money and power. Nearly all efforts, all struggles, have been to satisfy an endless craving for them; nearly all sins, too, have been incited by them."
"War, deception, plunder, theft, corruption—without exception."
"I've always wondered if there was a way to end this tedious cycle and make this world more interesting."
After the proclamation began, he made countless eyes, which had been roaming the world, continuously manifest, then slowly ascend into the sky, merging back together one by one.
The sudden appearance of tens of thousands of white light points inevitably surprised many.
To them, it was as terrifying as suddenly discovering one day that their beloved cats and dogs, with whom they lived day in and day out, were actually alien spies.
"Are we being observed by aliens?"
"Is this a government surveillance device?"
"Have I been living under constant surveillance?"
Many skeptics considered these chilling questions, momentarily even overshadowing their focus on the mysteriously appearing voice.
"...So I've decided to change the rules of the game."
"In one week, I will install a system called the Destiny System for everyone remaining in the Huaxia Federation. Within the next decade, it will be installed across the entire Earth."
"The Destiny System will become everything in this nation. From now on, there will be no need for other administrators, nor for so-called superiors. Only two levels of existence will remain: players and the system. Everyone will only be qualified to live if they obey the system's commands and complete the tasks it issues."
...
"What in the world is that madman trying to do?! Radical egalitarianism?!" The faces of those present in Tianqing grew increasingly distorted, their brows furrowing tighter and tighter.
"'Excess capital beyond what is necessary for living, held by individuals, is meaningless except to promote speculation.' Using such a far-fetched reason to forcibly restrict everyone's wealth ceiling to no more than one million Huaxia coins, with any excess to be fully remitted to the system—is he insane?" The rules set by Bai Mo were clearly unacceptable to them.
"Forcing everyone's actions to comply with the system's regulations and commands, with violators facing forced labor for minor offenses and immediate erasure for severe ones—is he trying to turn everyone into slaves of this damned system? Who does he think he is!"
"Perhaps future political and history books will add another form of government: systemic slavery."
...
"What exactly is your purpose?" After hearing the entire declaration, those from the Huaxia side finally lost their patience and posed this question.
"Over the past few months, I've observed the lives of more than five hundred thousand people within the Huaxia Federation. The vast majority of them endlessly repeat boring work, day after day, just to make a living."
"These people may often have ideas and plans to improve themselves, but almost all of them end up abandoning their efforts due to a lack of self-discipline, ultimately accomplishing nothing, squandering their days, and remaining a waste."
Bai Mo didn't turn off his worldwide "microphone," broadcasting the entire conversation to every single person without reservation, thereby launching an epic taunt.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"I've been wondering if an enforcing system could replace the elusive self-control within each person."
"Monitoring every plan made, reminding them of every moment of laziness, constantly elevating each person's inherent quality. This way, with the system in place, they can all rapidly improve themselves."
"You don't strike me as an idealist striving for the betterment of all humanity. What exactly are you after?" Liu Chen retorted quite directly. After more than ten years of interaction, he knew very well that every step this man took held a hidden meaning; he would absolutely not do something so insane on a momentary impulse.
"The true value of intelligent life lies in its ability to achieve far more than beasts, using knowledge as leverage. To put it plainly, a senior engineer can create more value for me than ten illiterate people."
"You want to become Tianming itself, forcing everyone to follow the path you've laid out, to become more useful to you, and then create greater value for you?" Chen Bo largely understood his idea, but it was clearly impossible for him to comprehend or accept.
Bai Mo said nothing, continuing to gaze down at everything on the ground with icy eyes.
"He truly is a madman, selfish to the point of selflessness."
According to Bai Mo's declaration, once the Destiny System was implemented, all power and wealth would be concentrated in his hands, and he would arrange every moment of this vast nation's operation.
The system would control everything, and no one else would have any possibility of grasping power. Naturally, there would be no power struggles, and the endless pursuit of money would become meaningless due to the asset ceiling. This was precisely why he had spoken those words.
"Laissez-faire has never been the best choice; planning is. Past plans failed only because the people who drafted them lacked sufficient information processing ability, or because the execution of the plans themselves became twisted."
"With my current power, I can see the entire nation in real-time, and directly assign plans to each individual in the form of tasks. There will be absolutely no misinterpretation in the transmission of meaning."
"You waited all these years just for this reason?" Cheng Mu finally understood why Bai Mo hadn't initiated all of this several years ago. Being individually stronger than everyone else wasn't enough; he needed the power to cast everyone aside and control everything alone!
"This is your 'interesting' world? It's clearly a hell!"
"We absolutely will not be dogs to this system!"
...
All present were local powerhouses, naturally unable to accept such a societal structure that restricted personal freedom to the extreme, so they began to clamor in protest.
"Over the next week, all life on this planet may come to the Australian continent to challenge me. I don't care about the numbers, nor the weapons."
After leaving those words, he took three seconds to shatter all the avatars of the observing superhumans in the Ta Ke Desert, then transformed into a streaking light, vanishing from the spot along with the shadow in the sky. On the yellow sands, only a bewildered Li Bida remained.
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